Nov 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares are set to open on a strong note on Thursday, on the back of a Wall Street rally, as investors took a positive view of U.S. midterm elections that saw Democrats win control of the House of Representatives and Republicans expand their Senate majority.
While a divided Congress will make it harder for Trump's Republican administration to push through new legislation such as additional tax cuts, investors were not expecting a reversal of tax cuts and deregulation measures that have already been enacted. local share price index futures YAPcm1 rose 0.5 percent, a 5.9-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO close. The benchmark ended 0.4 percent higher on Wednesday.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.4 percent in early trade.